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Cornered
(As told by Calicana Fireborn...) The architecture of Lindala was not appreciated as often as needed beneath the light of a fresh sunrise. The marble columns and arches reflected the gold of the early sun. My steps made a delicious patter on the cobble roads that wound around the organic but pristine shapes of the city. Each fold of each building conjured a pale purple shadow bringing a peaceful mysticism to the land. A few candles began to burn in the windows of some of the residences. Although it was very early, many had to get up in order to meet their quota for the day. I, on the other hand, was making my way to bed after babysitting some of the men at a tavern down the road from where we were staying. Not but a block from our residence I detected an offbeat occurrence down a passage to a courtyard. It was a young girl being harassed by an unkempt man dressed in all black. I would not have noticed the episode if the young girl had not caught my attention with her likeness to Ami. She seemed desperate to flee the corner he had caught her in. “Just come with me. I must show you something.” I overheard the man say to the young girl. He kept stepping closer to her, closing off her escape. “I have to get home.” She kept saying. “I have to get home.” She was scared, the hesitance was clear in her voice. I stepped forward, demanding attention off the young girl, but kept a friendly tone. “Rashina, where have you been?” I spoke at her. “I have been looking for you all night.” Her eyes lit up. She was a smart one, quickly catching on. She ran past the man, jumping into my arms. “I’m so glad I found you. Don’t ever run off again. I don’t care how many times Geoph tugs on your braids.” I kept my focus on her, turning from the old man and carrying her down the road until we were out of sight. She was grasping onto my hood with her small fists. I sat her down on a bench outside of the tavern we were staying in. “Are you alright? Did he touch you?” “No, he didn’t. I’m alright.” She fixed her shirt, tugging the collar back into place. “Do you have any parents? Where are your guardians? I’ll take you to them.” “I have a mother, but she had business to attend to last night.” “So you went off on your own?” I waited for a response but she was silent. Her stance closed her off from the conversation. “My name is Calicana, but you can call me Cali. Have you a name?” “Lashri.” She was quick and quiet, her mind elsewhere. Maybe the whole confrontation was just too much for her. She yawned, reminding me of the hour. “You need rest. Come with me and I promise you will be safe as you sleep.” I tried my best to put a look of solace on my face although I was rather worried. I led her to our place of rest, a small tavern marked “Dragon’s Egg Inn”. Small dragons made from paper and wax adorned the windowsills. The whole building was painted in a shiny green and blue, how I’d imagine dragon scales would look. She took my hand as we walked in. The room smelled of freshly prepared food and floral incense, the keeper wiping down the counter for the start of the day. I gave her a nod as we swept past an unconscious lad who most definitely had a crazy night and up the silver-plated steps to my room. It was a small, single person room as The Wolfeater deemed it unbecoming for me to sleep around the other soldiers; there were few women in his troops. The walls were coated in wallpaper that told the stories of what dragons once may have been to Lancerus. I felt Lashri might enjoy these pictures and hoped they would provide comfort. I closed my window and my blinds, muting any hollering the streets might bring. I gave Lashri one of my shirts to sleep in. It laid like a dress on her. She laid down in my bed, and I sat beside her. I sang her to sleep with a lullaby my mother sang to me the one day she held me. It was the only time I heard her voice. ' ' “Sleep my little darling. Let all be noble and true. Think of not of the stormy outdoors, And I will watch over you.” ' ' Her smile indicated a sense of comfort, almost as if her mother sang the same song every night. When I was sure she had drifted off, I laid down beside her and followed suit. ' ' A foggy plane laid before me, a small girl in my path. It was Lashri. But, what significance did she pose in this place? She felt almost as a guide, lighting the way through the darkness that clouded my eyes. She did not turn to me, however. The ground began to shake in an aggressive tantrum that threw us both to the floor. As I looked up it was Amarka, reaching for my hand. Her face was bloody and torn, her body covered with dirt, almost as it had been when I first found her. As I reached for her she was taken back, lifted into the darkness. Her face was desperate, but still. I yelled. “Ami!” I wasn’t sure if she could hear me as the ambience of where we were was full of loud and clattering noises of which the source was unknown. “AMARKA!” I bellowed with all I had. My lungs felt as if they were collapsing under the weight of my own wail. Her body kept falling back into the darkness of what wasn’t and on my shoulder I felt a hand. It was her, my guardian, Ruukina. She often let her presence be known in times of peril, but it was with her presence I knew I had to find her on my own. ' ' I woke that evening to Aurilus knocking on my door. “Sinthaster requests all of our attendance at dinner. The Darkmoon says its urgent. I’d guess its trivial at best.” His muffled voice could be heard through the door, his steps then continued down the hall. I rubbed my eyes. When my vision adjusted, it was clear that Lashri was no longer in the room. A pile of my clothes lay where she had been sleeping, and everything she came with was gone. All of my possessions remained. She wasn’t a con artist. I redressed, pulling on a long skirt and a pillowy blouse. I checked my purse, unknowing if the girl had taken my money or not. All money remained, but along with it was a crimson ribbon with a small but distinguishable shield sewn into it with thread. “Huh.” I thought outloud. The symbol looked familiar, but I was unsure from where I had seen it before. It may have been part of one of my schoolings when I was younger, but as of now my memory was escaping me. I pulled on my remaining garments, including a pink crocheted waistband I know Aurilus gifted me for my birthday (although he refuses to take credit), and headed downstairs for my first meal of the day: dinner. Sat around the bar were many of the men I had been traveling and fighting with. The Wolfeater was standing at the head of the room, holding a turkey leg in one fist and a goblet of what I presumed to be some alcoholic beverage in the other. His voice was commanding. “We have allowed the orcs to live for too long! Tomorrow we leave early, so tonight we prepare. It is time to take them out and return to Fumna the mercy we have shown!” He took a bite of his meat and with a full mouth continued his speech. “You will all be receiving orders that must be completed before the night is up. Now is the time to forgo our relaxation and terminate this disease.” He raised his goblet to The Seven. “Who is stronger? Orcs or men?” He bellowed from his gut. The whole room had strength when it chanted back “Men. Men. Men. Men.” Every man then began unto his meal like the warrior he convinced himself he was. Wine was splashing across the room. A small girl scuttled over to my side in horror. “Look at all of them. I’m going to have so much laundry to do.” She was short and thin but had strong arms. She looked as though she could handle a hard day's work, and I suppose that’s what she had ahead of her. I believe her name was Keirina, but I had only heard it in passing. She often tended to Sinthaster when he refused to do so himself. The Wolfeater slid up between us. “Perfect! You women can go to market and buy us a nice pig to roast for breakfast.” His arms landed on both of our shoulders. “Or you can get Jastus over there who cooks our meals and actually knows what to look for in a pig.” I gestured towards a burly man who was as greasy but flavorful as the grub he prepared. “Nonsense!” Sin exclaimed. “You ladies don’t have anything else to do.” “Oh, but what if we can’t carry what we must bring back?” Keirina expressed. “That’s what Aurilus is for!” He spouted with a delirious smile and drifted off. Aurilus lumbered over. “He treats me like a mule.” ' ' The sun was low in the sky, a golden sheen carpeting the streets. The evening had just begun and the market was humming with enterprise, stands overflowing with product to auction. “Is it not odd that the market is so busy in the evening?” I questioned. “Lindala markets are open late so the people can get their shopping done after a day of work.” Keirina informed me. “I’ve heard they don’t open until the sun is well past the center of the sky.” Aurilus added. We headed past many weapon dealers and clothing vendors towards the groceries. Many stands were selling pigs of all sizes and I left it up to Keirina to spot a suitable one with her keen eye. I had no opinion on the matter. She picked a rather large boar, tusks still intact. The dealer was rather keen of Aurilus’ muscles and thus gave us a favorable price. I took out my purse to pay for the pig, but in a flash of confusion it was swept out of my hand by a short, braided figure. Instinct propelled me forward, weaving between confused shoppers towards the small thief who I was sure was Lashri. Why had she stolen from me? Did she know it was me? Would she have acted differently if she knew it was me? She hadn’t stolen from me before. It was hard to keep up with someone so small. I often lost her in the crowd but past days with Ami helped me stay focused on the chase. She was fast for how short her legs were. I thought for sure that I wasn’t going to catch her. She led me out of the market place, further into the city than I had ever been. She was about to enter the Inner Ring, a place I couldn’t go, but she took a sharp turn down an alley with little to no light at this time of day. It was a dead end. “Lashri.” I commanded. She turned from the brick wall and faced me. She looked different, less innocent, and I’m sure it wasn’t the lighting. “You stole from me.” I was stern. She was young but she knew what she was doing. Any purity she had was gone. We stood in silence for a moment. She didn’t seem too keen on speaking. I took a step forward. Nothing. Another step forward. It didn’t seem as if she was going to make an attempt at escape. Another step forward. A voice behind me broke the silence. “Hello.” Without turning I could tell it was a middle-aged women. She sounded gentle. I looked over my shoulder at her. She wasn’t smiling but she wasn’t irate. “Thank you for helping my daughter.” “Now I’m your mark?” I turned my back to Lashri. She still hadn’t moved. “No. I needed to talk to you.” Lashri arrived at my side, placing my purse in my hand. “And you made me chase you down for it?” “If you are who you might be, I knew you’d be able to keep up. Now keep up.” She walked out of the alley and turned into a storefront. I followed her inside. The store was old. The shelves were covered in dust. The whole building seemed to have been out of use for quite some time. She led me into a back room which simply held a table and two stools. She sat down on one and gestured for me to take a seat on the other. The tainted window next to us allowed in little light. “You sang to my daughter.” she spoke so matter-of-factly. “That I did.” “Where did you learn that song?” “My mother sang it to me when I was a child.” She took a moment in thought. “Who is your mother?” She was curious. “Rashina.” Her eyes widened. “Your mother was Rashina.” She spoke her thought in disbelief. “I know that name. She was one of the abducted. But I’m sure those are stories you are familiar with.” “One?” I didn’t understand. I knew she was taken in a siege, but were there others? “One of the Shield Maidens, my dear. Many were taken in the time of your mother.” The Shield Maidens. My mind’s eye went back to the symbol on the crimson ribbon. I gripped my purse. It was a Mark of Protection from the Shield Maidens. I learned about them when I was younger. I often played with the thought of them, but they are just a legend. “The Shield Maidens don’t exist.” I spoke this phrase almost for myself. I needed to reassure that this was fact. She laughed a true laugh from her gut. “Of course we exist. If we didn’t exist, the Whitefang bloodline would be terminated. If we didn’t exist, Uro Daykin would be dead. We only fail to exist in many realities because men too often are shamed by our protection.” It took a moment for her to compose herself. “My name is Virian Bellspar, by the way.” She stood up, opening a small box that sat on the windowsill. She took a long, thin pipe out of it and a jar of herbs and sat back down. “Calicana.” “Ha! No last name, I see. A true child of the Wastes.” She stuffed some of the green into her pipe. “I come from a small village. We have no surnames.” “Well you should think about finding one. You don’t get anywhere in this world by only having one name.” A small match lit her pipe and she began to puff away at it. “I have a question.” “Of course.” “What made you need to speak to me?” “You sang one of our songs.” “Excuse me.” “You sang to Lashri a song of the Shield Maidens. It’s one of our marks.” “The Shield Maidens have a lullaby?” “No. We have two different verses. One is a general verse. We sing it together to inspire ourselves and inspire those we protect. The other is a memorial verse. We sing it to those deceased who are marked with our protection. That’s what you sang to Lashri.” “My mother sang me to sleep with a song sung to the dead?” “Or the dying.” Category:Calicana Fireborn Category:Character lore